


Where Are You Mister Stark?

by KenzieHasSocialAnxiety



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Awesome Wanda Maximoff, BAMF Tony Stark, Bittersweet Ending, Depression, Domestic Avengers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Hurt Peter, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, May Parker (Spider-Man) Needs a Hug, May Parker is MVP of the fucking century, Nightmare Disorder, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter is a Little Shit, Precious Peter Parker, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Tony Stark, Suicide Attempt, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture, Violence, What Have I Done, Worried May Parker (Spider-Man), coffee is the only reason tony stark is alive, im a terrible person, my children dont deserve this, oh boi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:58:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KenzieHasSocialAnxiety/pseuds/KenzieHasSocialAnxiety
Summary: Peter Parker always looked up to Tony Stark. He's Iron Man! What's not to love!Peter Parker needs Tony to keep him alive when he's in the Spider-Man Suit.Peter Parker looks up to Tony and respects him like he's a god.Peter Parker needs Tony to help him through his issues.But Tony needs Peter more than Peter ever could.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading!

Peter sighed, his hand resting lazily in his left palm as he scrawled down chemistry notes with his other. He looked over at Ned, his best friend for years, sweating as he tried to copy them down as fast as possible. Then he looked over at MJ, his other best friend since homecoming, staring right back at him. He gulped and ducked his head back down, face red. Yes, they were best friends. Yes, she was great. Yes, she could easily murder him.  
Finally, the paragraph was finished, and Peter got the chance to turn in his seat again. So he did. Ned, MJ, Emily, Kirsten, Flash. Ah. Flash. Flash didn’t like Peter. Good job the feeling was mutual.  
Peter glanced at the clock.  
Five minutes.  
Thank Odin for that. Peter was going to see Mister Stark for the weekend; they were going to be working on the Spiderman Suit, and Peter was hyped to say the least. Getting to work with fancy tech in Tony freaking Stark’s lab wasn’t something that happened every normal kid. But then, since when had Peter Parker been normal?  
The bell rang out across the school, and Peter shot from his seat.  
“Not so fast Parker. Homework assignments.” The teacher drawled.  
Peter groaned and fell back into his chair.  
-  
“Yeah but Captain America did it first. He was an avenger before Stark made it a trend.” MJ argued in response to Ned’s question “Who is the best avenger.”  
“Yeah but Mister Stark is iron man!”  
“Your point Peter?”  
“Do I really need to make one MJ?”  
“Point approved.”  
Peter, Ned and MJ descended the steps from Midtown High School, and a horn honked. Peter looked over. Happy sat in the open-topped car, his standard don’t-fuck-with-me expression casually plastered on his face.  
Peter turned back and hugged Ned. “See you on Sunday Peter!”  
Then he hugged MJ. “Still think Wanda’s the best. See ya round nerd.”  
Peter ran to the car and slung his bag in the back seat, and hopped in after it.  
“Good day kid?” Happy muttered.  
“Yeah it was great! We had a physics test first period which I ACED, and Ned totally flunked. I told him to study y’know, but he didn’t listen. But man the look on his faces when he opened the first page…” Peter sunk into a fit of laughter and Happy couldn’t help but smile. God, the kid’s energy was infectious, and Happy couldn’t stand it. But at the same time, he was getting paid for this, so maybe he could.

“Good afternoon Mister Parker. Should I let the boss know you have arrived?” Friday stated, the second the doors to Stark tower opened before Peter.  
“Hiya Miss Friday Ma’am, and sure, if he’s not too busy that is!” Peter added that last part nervously.  
“I see. Mr Stark has told me to relay this voice message to you when you arrive.” Friday waited a beat, before playing the recording. “This shit on? Right. Hey kid. Stuff’s in the lab. I’ll be down in a sec. Go ham.”  
Peter grinned uncontrollably. “Thanks Miss Friday Ma’am!” He scampered off down to the lab.  
-  
Swoosh  
The doors swooshed open. Peter loved the doors and their swooshiness. Probably one of the best things about the Stark Tower was the swooshy doors, and when you’re surrounded by billion dollar suits and nanotech, that was no small feat.  
Swoosh  
They did it when they closed too.  
Peter put his back down on the shiny lab floor, and practically skipped over to the lab table where Tony had pre-laid the suit out along with a bunch of parts, tools, and incomplete blueprints. Peter leafed through the plans, staring in awe at the detailed diagrams scattered amongst the pages.  
Before Peter knew it, an hour had passed, and Mister Stark still hadn’t arrived.  
“Uhm… Miss Fri-“  
“On it Mr Parker. Contacting Mr Stark now.”  
“Please call me Peter…” Peter bashfully smiled. Talking to an AI was so cool but so weird.  
“Only if you call me Friday, Mr Parker.”  
“Okay, okay, truce” Peter smiled to himself again.  
Swoosh  
“Fuck. Sorry kid.” Peter looked up from the blueprints and grinned.  
Swoosh  
Tony Stark stumbled through the door to the lab, coffee dripping from the overfilled mug, and paperwork slipping from his grasp. Leaping from his seat in record time, Peter took the stack of paper and put it on Mister Stark’s desk for him. Stark smiled tiredly at Peter and took a swift sip of his caffeinated beverage.  
“Right, so what d’ya wanna work on kid? I got some pretty nifty ideas in those blueprints but it’s your suit aftera-“  
“Mister Stark they’re awesome!” Peter blurted out, before turning red and apologising for interrupting.  
Stark only laughed. “It’s Tony, kid. And thanks. I guess you could say they are.”  
Tony and Peter got to working, dorking over nanotech and nerding over suit upgrades.  
Peter enjoyed Mister Stark’s presence. He was so clever and ingenuitive, and Peter respected him and looked up to him as a mentor. His ideas were pure genius, and his tech saved lives. Plus his comebacks were on point.  
Tony enjoyed the kid’s presence. His positivity and excitable energy gave Tony life in his personal hell littered with coffee cups and paperwork. The kid was smart, and full of creative ideas. Completely not what Tony was ready for, and yet surprisingly refreshing.  
“Maybe if we tweaked the alert system just… here, then we could add in an energy source detector to help with-“  
Swoosh  
“Alright boys. Playtime’s over.”  
Swoosh  
Parker and Stark jerked in surprise as Pepper Potts entered the lab, hands on hips and clipboard tucked under arm.  
Peter glanced at his phone. “Shit! May’s gonna kill me!”  
“Language.” Tony froze, and Pepper burst out laughing.  
“I think Steve’s really influencing you Tony.”  
“Steve…” Peter breathed, eyes wide as saucers. “You mean…”  
“Captain Underpants himself.” Tony confirmed with a lopsided smirk.  
“Oh my god. Is he… h e r e?” Peter whispered.  
“Yeah, they all are.” Tony replied nonchalantly.  
Peter let out an involuntary squeak. “Oh. My. God.”  
“Now come on kid, lets get you home to May before she kills us both.” That seemed to snap Peter out of his entrancement as he quickly picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.  
-  
“Thanks Happy!” Peter called, as he left the car and ran to his doorstep. He rang the doorbell, fidgeting nervously in the dark.  
The door opened.  
“Peter Benjamin Parker.” The strong voice addressed him fully. Peter prepared for the worst, cowering slightly where he stood. He was pulled into a tight hug that smelt clearly of cinnamon and vanilla. “We have curfews for a reason.” Aunt May whispered, almost pleadingly.  
“Sorry Aunt May, we were working on the suit and we had this really cool idea to-“  
“Food now, science talk later.” May ordered, stepping aside for Peter to enter into the warm place he liked to call home. Peter’s stomach agreed with May, growling as if in response.  
May thrust him into the house, where Peter slipped off his sneakers and threw on a hoodie, before heading to the kitchen. On the table were two smoking plates of radioactive lasagne. Peter was glad to know Aunt May was keeping to her traditional recipes.  
The two sat down, and began to eat in comfortable silence.  
“How was school?” May asked.  
“Aw man it was great! Totally aced the physics test!”  
“Good job Peter!” May smiled, her face crinkling slightly with pride. Peter beamed back. He loved Aunt May so much; they were each other’s everything. Without May, Peter would probably starve, and without Peter, May would be driven mad by loneliness.  
Ever since Ben had died, Peter and May grew closer than ever. Peter had lost so much, and knew how to appreciate a family when he had one.  
As they finished their meal, May instructed Peter to change into his pyjamas, shower, brush his teeth, and head to bed. Peter dared not to argue, as he swayed slightly on his feet from fatigue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is so done with life, and Peter helps him get through it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Wow, I never thought this would get any reads at all! Thank you to all of you reading this, and I'm sorry this chapter took so long! Hope you enjoy ~

Tony gulped down his coffee and ran a clammy hand through his hair.  
‘Come ON Tony THINK! There’s got to be some way around this’  
Tony stared blankly at the set of paperwork before him, head pounding with tension and knee jittering from anxiety.  
Tony and paperwork didn’t get on well when he had days like this. Days when his anxiety got the better of him. Days when he couldn’t calm down. Days when he couldn’t breathe.  
Tony took another sip of his coffee, and sighed. He should really go back to his therapist sometime soon. Maybe. He’d think about it later. Possibly. No; definitely. The last night’s ‘dreams’ had been riddled with terrors as per usual, but more so frequently that Tony was afraid to sleep. He always was. When hadn’t he been?  
Tony searched his mind for something, anything, to distract his pulsating thoughts from the tornado of shit wreaking havoc in his mind. Pepper… had more paperwork. Happy… hadn’t been paid yet. Steve… wanted to do a team training exercise. Peter… was coming ‘round on Thursday!   
Tony almost gasped as a tiny slit of relief formed in his mind. The kid’s visits were on Mondays and Thursdays. Today was Tuesday. He could make it until Thursday, right?  
-  
Wrong. Stark was so wrong. Never had Tony Stark been so damn wrong in his life. He was losing his goddamn mind and he hadn’t even made it to Wednesday yet.   
First Scott broke the coffee machine. The fucking coffee machine, his literal life line and reason for living.   
Then Bruce spilt some sort of radioactive shit in his lab, so Tony couldn’t get access to the tech he needed to work on. That shit had a deadline for God’s sake.  
Then Natasha and Wanda got into an argument over the fucking switch controller.  
Tony had had enough of everyone’s shit, and he needed outta there.  
He suited up on the roof of the tower, silently preparing to leave. Just a quick flight in the suit. That’s all it was.  
He took off, quickly navigating the red skies to nowhere.  
Hours passed.  
He didn’t want to go back.   
It was almost dark now.  
He should go back.  
He didn’t.  
Instead, he landed on the top of some run-down industrial building. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t care. Friday would navigate him back when he had to.   
Sighing, he sat on the edge of the building, legs dangling off the edge as he surveyed the crumbling buildings that seemed so bleak, and yellowing, colourless lights that seemed so dull. Tony took off the Iron Man helmet and stared at it wistfully.  
“We’ve been through a lot together huh buddy.” He said to it. “Yeah, our lives are really fucked up.” Tony rubbed his face. Damn, he was tired. Tired… His heart rate accelerated instantly. Tony did not want to sleep. Ever. No, not tonight. Sleep was for the weak anyways. He didn’t have to-  
“Hey! Mister Stark??” Kid? Was that the kid? Stark whipped his head in the direction the voice came from. “Mister Stark! Up Here!” He looked up and to the left. Peter was perched in the Spiderman suit on top of the railed power source block for the building Stark was sat on.  
“Kid? What’re you doing all the way out here.”  
“I was gonna ask you that Mister Stark! What are you doing in Queens at 9:30PM??”  
“Queens huh?” Tony said, his voice completely flat. There were no cogs turning in his head anymore. No tornadoes. No shit. Just dull, bleak calm. He hated it so much. He deactivated his suit and it pulled away from around him.  
“Are you alright Mister Stark?” Peter asked, his inquisitive tone clear in his voice, hopping down to Tony’s level and approaching him slowly. Tony said nothing, but looked up into the atmosphere, his eyes glazing over. “Mister Stark?” Peter mumbled, tentatively making his way over to the edge. Tony continued his wordlessness, so Peter sat down next to him. Together they stared out into the dark late evening, settled in a comfortable silence. This lasted for a while; Tony didn’t care to count the minutes, until Peter spoke up. “Why are you out here Mister Stark.” It wasn’t a question this time. Peter’s voice held a level of gentle concern that Tony hadn’t heard for years.  
“I dunno kid.” Tony finally answered, still unblinking. Peter shifted slightly, uncomfortably, as if unsatisfied by the answer. “I got issues.” Tony added, as if that clarified anything. Peter shivered violently. Tony Stark bolted upright.   
Cold.  
Peter was cold.  
Tony had been too dissociated to notice how cold Peter was beside him.  
“C’mere kid.” Tony said softly. Peter shot him a weird look. “I’m fine kid, just get over here.” Peter shuffled over and tucked himself into Tony’s side, still shivering slightly. Tony felt somewhat better now. Now that the kid was with him.  
“What’s really wrong Mister Stark?”  
Tony looked down at Peter, whose large eyes were gazing back at him with such tranquil disquiet that there was no way Tony couldn’t give him a decent answer. “I don’t like life kid. It’s really got me screwed.”  
“… I know the feeling Mister Stark.” Peter paused, leaving Tony wondering whether or not to press into the matter. “It’s just school.” Peter concluded. Tony nodded, though not completely understanding. “But as much as I’m sure you’d like to Mister Stark, you can’t control life.” Peter finished finally. This time, Tony did understand.  
“Yeah, some things you really wish you could change…”  
“What would you change Mister Stark?” Peter asked, perking up the subject a little  
“Ah, everything kid.” Tony joked, but he couldn’t help feeling like he meant it a tiny bit.  
“Really? I wouldn’t change being a super hero for the world!” Peter beamed brightly up at Tony.  
“Heh, yeah, I suppose being Iron Man is pretty cool. But sometimes you just really wanna be a normal guy with a stable income and a pretty wife and…” Tony swallowed thickly, “… kids.” He trailed off. Tony’s mind happily reminded him of all the times Pepper and himself had tried for children, and the tears, and all the negative pregnancy tests left strewn by the sink.   
“You want kids?” Peter asked, slight shock and bemusement lacing his tone.  
“What? Can’t a narcissistic billionaire create narcissistic billionaire babies?”   
“He can when he’s not trying to protect the world!”   
Tony stopped silent, before bursting out laughing. “Ah, nostalgia! That’s exactly what Pepper said a few years ago kid!”   
“She would.” Peter muttered, but still with a wide grin stretching his teenage features.  
“Guess I’ll just have to keep protecting the world then huh kid?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me your thoughts in a comment! Constructive criticism is always welcome! It really makes my day, and also makes my writing better for all of you! Thank you all and have a great day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Tony both have shitty days. Fluff ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus it has been a WHILE since I was last alive! Really sorry about that! Life and writer's block really got in the way, but after seeing FFH I got inspired to write more and voila!  
> Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoy!  
> ~K101~

Peter hopped off of the bus as soon as it pulled into his stop. He was actually not dreading school today. He had a group project with MJ and Ned, and he had all of his homework organised too.  
He entered the building with a slight hop to his step, a soft smile on his face. He didn’t really know what had brought on this good mood. Maybe it was because Aunt May didn’t completely char the bacon when she cooked breakfast that morning? Or maybe because he had a full three hours’ worth of lessons where he would have undisrupted conversation with MJ? Or maybe because he was going to Ned’s house that evening?  
Or maybe because Mister Stark hugged him.  
And not an awkward ‘I’m-going-for-the-door-not-a-hug’ hug.  
An actual hug.  
From his idol.  
From Tony Stark.  
If Peter had told all the things that had happened to him as Spiderman to his 13-year-old self, he doubted he would’ve believed any of it.  
Peter Parker at 13 was a kid from Queens with a sharp mind and a dorky personality.  
Peter Parker at 15 was a kid from Queens with a sharp mind and a dorky personality… and was a vigilante working under the guidance of Iron Man. Peter hadn’t changed much in personality. Sure, he had super powers now, but that didn’t change his core mentality; to be a decent human being and help as many people as possible. Only now he had people relying on him to save them.  
“Hey dork. What’s up with you today?” Peter snapped back into reality.  
MJ.  
“A-ah! Hi MJ!” MJ, who was stood in front of his to the left slightly, was lent against a locker. Her hair was in her iconic style of a low ponytail with the front strands of frizzy ringlets springing over her right eye and the side of her head. She wore a yellow band-tee with the name of a band Peter didn’t recognise on it, a pair of ripped tights under a black skirt, and a denim jacket to finish the look. She was giving him an unimpressed look. “What’s first lesson today?”  
“English.” MJ replied, her voice flat.  
Peter’s face lit up at the realisation that this was one of the lessons he got to sit exclusively with MJ. “Awesome! Let’s go!” Peter took off down the corridor.  
“Peter, we have homeroom first.” MJ told the jumpy teenager, and Peter spun back around, “And besides, English is that way” She said sourly, pointing down the opposite corridor.  
Peter swallowed, face red and sweaty-palmed. “Right. Yeah.” He choked out, ducking his head slightly.  
MJ laughed a little and punched him on the shoulder. “That’s my awkward dork back.” She smiled at him, and he smiled nervously back. “Now let’s go get our other nerd.”  
\---  
Peter really was a useless sack of potatoes when it came to keeping his composure in front of his crush – concealing his feelings never was his forte, let’s be honest.  
This was the second time this period that MJ had caught him staring at her. She merely smirked and turned back around to her sketch she had been busy with until she had noticed Peter’s eyes on her.  
Peter panicked when he caught her roll her eyes. What was his hair like? Did he have pen on his face? Shit, was he drooling??  
He involuntarily twitched and accidentally sent the metal pen that was on his desk clattering to the cold, hard floor. The noise echoed around the otherwise silent classroom, and a few giggles and mocking scoffs came from the neighbouring seats around him. Peter really hated his super strength sometimes.  
“Nice one Parker.” Quietly drawled the provocative voice of Flash behind him.  
Peter instinctively twisted around to face him.  
“Mister Parker? Back to work. Now.” The stringent voice of his English teacher was sharp and unwelcome to Peter’s sensitive ears, who presently exhaled his frustration under his breath and turned back reluctantly to his seat.  
School sucked.  
\---  
The end bell rang and Peter could feel himself let out a breath. How was it only Wednesday?  
After a rushed goodbye to MJ and Ned, Peter pulled out his phone,  
 5 messages received from: Tony Stark  
Peter’s heart leapt to his mouth. Tony had only given him his number for emergencies.  
Emergencies.  
His pulse accelerated through the roof as he fumbled with his phone’s password, getting it wrong multiple times by pressing the incorrect number until finally the lock screen was swiped away.

* * *

**Tony Stark:** _Hey kid. Good talk last night. **(13:05)**_  
**Tony Stark:** _I needed that. **(13:05)**_  
**Tony Stark:** _Well let me cut to the chase I guess **(13:07)**_  
**Tony Stark:** _Today sucked ass. **(13:07)**_  
**Tony Stark:** _I know today’s not Thursday, but is there any chance you could take an impromptu visit to Stark Tower? **(13:08)**_  
Well, at least it wasn’t a world-ending catastrophe.  
Peter hurriedly typed back a response.  
**Peter Parker:** _I gotta ask may but id love to mr stakr **(14:02)**_

* * *

Peter internally died.  
‘stakr’  
‘STAKR’  
Before Peter could literally throw himself into the road for his typo, the reply pinged in.

* * *

**Tony Stark:** _May’s not a problem kid. She already agreed. **(14:02)**_  
**Tony Stark:** _Also… **(14:02)**_  
 _‘ **Tony Stark’** has changed their name to **‘Mr Stakr’**_

* * *

Never mind. That BMW would do the job.

* * *

**Peter Parker** : _Sure thing Mr Stark! I’ll web over now! **(14:02)**_

* * *

Peter made sure his capitalisation and grammar was perfect this time.

He made his way to the school bathrooms, and hastily tugged his last-minute-stuffed-in suit out of his backpack. He opened the frosted window and slipped out, silently landing on the tarmac outside his school.  
His webs stuck to the nearest building, and the thrill of the sky filled him. Webbing was definitely one of his favourite parts about being spiderman.  
\---  
Tony put down his phone, a small smile playing on his lips. He rolled his shoulders back and glanced at the clock. Peter would probably be less than twenty minutes – thank god – so Tony decided to occupy himself by brewing another cup of coffee.  
He felt like shit. Tony hadn’t gotten any sleep, but then again, he didn’t want to. He never wanted to.  
He shook his head and took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the burn on his tongue and lips, and took a seat at one of the counters in his kitchen. It was then that Steve walked in.  
He took one look at Tony and sighed heavily. “Rough night?”  
“What do you think genius?” Tony muttered back, burying his face in his hands. “Sorry.” He added. Steve hadn’t meant anything patronising.  
“We’re worried about you Stark…  
-‘Straight to the chase huh?’-  
… and we don’t know what to do.”  
That made Tony look up in surprise. He thought this was going to be some kind of intervention, or get-help scheme that his team had come up with.  
Steve’s face was mottled with concern, hope, and what Tony could only pick out as fear. He really was worried.  
“You don’t need to worry so much Cap. You’re not my mother.” Tony joked, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.  
“Quit it Tony. This is a problem you seriously need to talk to someone about.”  
“Which problem? I’ve got many. I’m afraid you’re gonna have to be more specific Capsicle.”  
“Don’t think we don’t notice it Tony.” Steve’s voiced was slightly raised. “The alcohol, the nightmares, the yelling in the night. There are people who can help you. Professionals. Real people trained to help people with this stuff-“  
“You know nothing about anything Rogers.” Tony snarled, cutting Steve off. His stance was defensive, - cowed – shoulders hunched.  
Steve stopped. “I’m sorry.” He apologised. “I didn’t mean to cross a line, I just-“ He let out an exasperated breath. “I can’t watch you do this to yourself.”  
Tony was still for a moment. What Steve said wasn’t anything new. He’d heard the same story from Pepper and Rhodey already.  
“It’s not healthy Tony!”  
“Just let me help Tones..”  
“Stop trying to force the burden on just you…”  
“Stop pretending you can do this alone…”  
Tony scrubbed at his tired face and stood up.  
“… I’ll think about it.” Steve made a move like he was going to hug him but stopped himself. “C’mere.” Tony muttered, opening his arms reluctantly.  
Steve immediately accepted, strong arms wrapping around Tony like a protective barrier.  
A small sound came from behind Tony, and he whipped around, breaking the hug.  
There, in the entrance to the elevator, stood Peter, red faced and eyes wide, with school bag and denim jacket on over his suit. His mask was still on.  
“S-Sorry Mister Stark! I didn’t mean to interrupt anything! I just asked Friday to take me to the level you were on and-“  
“Who are you?” Steve said, stern. Shit. Steve didn’t know who Peter was, or that he was spiderman.  
“Spiderman!” Tony grinned, striding over to him, and placed a hand firmly on his back. “Cap, this is Spiderman. Spiderman, Captain America.” Tony felt Peter’s breath hitch below his hand. “Keep it together kid.” Tony whispered, slowly moving Peter towards Steve.  
“Nice to meet you Spiderman.” Steve greeted a little stiffly, holding out a hand for Peter to shake. “I’ve heard about you on the news.”  
Peter shook it a little too enthusiastically. “Nice to meet you too sir! I’ve heard about you from, well, y’know, everywhere…” his voice trailed off a bit, and he left out a nervous laugh.  
Steve’s laugh was anything but nervous. “Sir? Tony how old is this guy?” It was meant as a joke, but both Tony and Peter’s heartrates increased.  
“21.” Tony rushed. Steve quirked an eyebrow. “ANYways nice to talk Cap but we really gotta get to work. Right Spidey?”  
“Uh, yessir! Bye Mister Captain America!”  
Tony steered Peter and himself off down a corridor to the Lab. As soon as they were out of earshot, Peter erupted.  
“Oh my God. I just spoke to Captain America. Captain America just spoke to me. I just got to shake Captain America’s hand. Oh my God. Oh my God.”  
Tony burst out laughing. Christ he loved this kid.  
\---  
Peter (freshly changed back into his normal clothes) and Tony were stood over a workbench; blueprints, pencils and technology parts lay scattered around them  
“… and then if we re-install the mainframe to be downloaded onto the-“ Peter’s nerd-rambling was cut off by his phone’s text chime. He sent Tony an apologetic look.  
“Go ahead kid. I’ll start the installation.”

* * *

**MJ** : _Hey loser. **(17:18)**_  
**Peter:** _Hey MJ! whats up? **(17:18)**_  
**MJ:** _Where’d you run off to so fast after school? We too boring for you or something? **(17:08)**_  
**Peter:** _Nonono nothing like that! **(17:09)**_

* * *

Peter heard a chuckle from behind him. “So, this is the famous MJ I’ve been hearing so much about.”  
Peter’s face bloomed into red. “Uhh.. no..?”  
“Ah, c’mon kid, no need to be shy about a person you like.” Tony said reassuringly.  
“Well, she’s really pretty and cool, and her humour’s really funny but dark, and she’s just, y’know, really cool…”  
Tony laughed heartily. “You’re in deep kiddo.”  
Swoosh.  
“Tony, where the fuck is that paperwork I asked for THREE DAYS AGO.”  
“Shit. Pep, I’m sorry, it’s over here.” Tony scuttled off to a corner of the lab where his desk setup was, and hurried back with the same stack of papers that Peter had helped him with before.  
Pepper let out a huff of exasperation. “What am I going to do with you Stark.”  
“Love you too!”  
Swoosh.  
“And you tease me about my love issues!”  
Tony gaped at Peter, mock hurt. “You’re in for it now Underoos!”  
Tony leapt at Peter, hands outstretched and aiming straight for the ribs.  
Peter screeched, leaping away from Tony and his tickle-threat. Tony bolted after him, and they ran around the lab until Peter threw himself onto the ceiling.  
“You’ll never catch me now Mister Stark!” Peter yelled, and scuttled across the ceiling, the sight leaving Tony bent over with laugher, tears forming in his eyes from the hilarity.  
He hadn’t laughed like this for years.  
Thinking quickly, Tony grabbed a rope from under a work bench and tried to lasso Peter and failing miserably. Within minutes, the two of them were on the floor, still laughing so hard their bellies hurt.  
After the laughter receded, they sat in comfortable silence with Peter leant against Tony’s right side, small head on large shoulder.  
“Hey Pete?”  
“Yeah Mister Stark?”  
“Thanks for coming over today. I really needed this.”  
“It’s no problem!”  
“Oh, and also… call me Tony.”  
Peter laughed quietly. “I’ll try.”


End file.
